The only common moray with a plain white eye, often several to a hole.
A moray to about 65 cm, greyish brown to olive, finely peppered with darker speckling and without bars, blotches or a pale-edged jaw. The name comes from the iris, which is plain white to very pale blue and stands out sharply against the dark head — no other moray common in the region has it, and it is diagnostic at a glance. The snout is short and blunt and the teeth are low and molar-like rather than fang-shaped, matching a diet weighted towards crustaceans.
One of the more sociable morays, frequently found with two or three heads protruding from the same crevice, and untroubled by low-quality habitat: rubble piles, broken concrete, jetty debris and rock all suit it. Ranges from very shallow water down to about 30 m and is often the moray encountered in the first few metres. Active mainly at night, but sits in the open mouth of its hole through the day and is one of the least reactive morays to a close approach, which makes it a straightforward subject. The open, working jaw is respiration, not threat.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.
